Patient Navigation to Improve Patient-Centered Cancer Care

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Cancer
• Interventions: Other: Usual Care; Other: Patient Navigation Program

• Registration Number: NCT03226405
• Lead Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital

Brief Summary

The MGH Cancer Center's patient navigation (PN) program, utilizes specially trained community-based personnel to improve cancer care in underserved communities by increasing cancer screening and removing barriers to timely care. This program incorporate rigorous evaluation to demonstrate the impact of innovation in healthcare delivery.

Detailed Description

This program allow cancer patients from MGH Community Health Centers (CHC) and surrounding communities who experience barriers to accessing care, including poverty, and limited English proficiency, and provide them navigation to receive timely, guideline-concordant treatment at MGH Cancer Center. By offering these vulnerable individuals a patient-centered approach to treatment, The investigators aim to promote patient engagement and increase access throughout the continuum of cancer care.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-07-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-07-20
• Study First Posted: 2017-07-21
• Study Start: 2017-11-01
• Status Verified: 2020-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-04-20
• Last Update Posted: 2020-04-21
• Primary Completion: 2020-10-02
• Study Completion: 2023-10-02

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 400

Inclusion Criteria

• Adult patients (age 18 and older)

• Newly diagnosed with cancer referred from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) community health centers in

  • Revere
  • Chelsea
  • Charlestown
  • surrounding communities referred to receive cancer treatment at the MGH Cancer Center

Exclusion Criteria

-Patients that primary care providers exclude

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Standard of Care	Usual Care	* The patients will receive enhanced usual care, * This consist of personal phone call reminders about upcoming appointments at the MGH Cancer Center
Patient Navigation Program	Patient Navigation Program	* The study team will identify, track, and provide navigation for all adult patients referred to Cancer Center from the CHC and community partners for cancer treatment. * The Patient Navigation Program include * Education, * Appointment reminders, * Help with insurance, * Transportation, * Navigating the Cancer Center, * Assisting in finding appropriate child care, * Interpreting, * Connecting the patient to psychosocial and/or palliative care teams, * Physically escorting the patient to appointments

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Time From Cancer Diagnosis To First Oncology Appointment	2 Years	Length of time in days from cancer diagnosis to first completed oncology appointment.
Adherence With Cancer Treatment	2 years	Adherence with cancer treatment will be measured as no-show rate to scheduled oncology appointments.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Health Related Quality Of Life	2 years	Health related quality of life measured via the validated Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G).
Emergency Department Visits	2 years	Number of emergency department visits by enrolled patients.
Unplanned Hospitalizations/Readmissions	2 years	Number of unplanned hospitalizations and/or readmissions by enrolled patients.
Patient Engagement In Care	2 years	Patient engagement in care will be measured using the validated Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions (PEPPI) metric.
Proportion Of Patients Enrolled In Clinical Trials	2 years	Proportion of participants in the study that enroll on a clinical trial.
Overall Survival	2 years	Overall survival rate of the study population.
Overall Missed Health Care Visits	2 years	Number of scheduled health care visits missed by enrolled patients.
Inpatient Hospitalization Length Of Stay.	2 years	Number of days enrolled patients spent as a hospitalized inpatient.
Patient Satisfaction With Patient Navigation Program (PNP)	2 years	Patient satisfaction with patient navigation program (PNP) to be measured via the validated Patient Satisfaction with Navigation - 1 (PSN-1).
Patient's Financial Burden	2 years	Patient financial burden will be measured using the validated Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) instrument.
Patient Satisfaction with Cancer Care	2 years	Patient satisfaction with cancer care to be measured using the validated Cancer-Related Care Survey.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Massachusetts General Hospital; 🇺🇸 Boston, Massachusetts, United States